Best 9 Low-Maintenance Perennials for Shade Gardens

Hosta

A low-maintenance, shade-loving plant with variegated leaves and white or purple blooms, perfect for groundcover, and comes back year-after-year.

Hellebore

A delicate, evergreen plant with tissue-paper-like flowers in soft shades, blooming early in spring, and excellent as a groundcover.

Periwinkle

A hardy, spreading vine with charming five-pointed blooms in cool shades, perfect for filling large shady spaces, and tolerates sun, shade, and poor soil.

Columbine

A delicate, airy flower favorite of hummingbirds and bees, providing height and color in a lush, wooded garden, with dozens of varieties.

Coral Bells

A plant with big, leafy color in shades of green, purple, and coral, growing in low mounds with tall bell-shaped flowers appearing in spring.

Bleeding Heart

A striking spring flower with a dramatic, romantic look, flowering in early cool days, and retreating once temperatures warm up, best in a woodland setting.

Tufted Hairgrass

An ornamental grass growing well in shady areas, adding height and textured interest, with cloud-like tufts and soft light green and yellow flowers.

Japanese Painted Fern

A low-lying fern growing well in wooded, shady gardens, offering an eye-catching addition of color and depth, with unique, variegated leaves.

Astilbe

A soft, long-blooming plant with tufts of pink, red, purple, and white, adding height to shade gardens, and providing a lovely touch of color and texture.